Service Pack 1 (SP1) for Microsoft Project Standard 2010, Microsoft Project Professional 2010 and Microsoft Project Server 2010 has been released to the Microsoft Download Center. SP1 contains a number of products updates based on customer feedback, as described in this announcement last May: Announcing Service Pack 1 for Microsoft Project & Project Server 2010.

Before you install SP1 it is essential that you understand its content described in the links below, and thoroughly read the guidance documented on TechNet and test out SP1 in a separate environment prior to a production rollout.

We strongly recommend that you deploy the June 2011 Cumulative Update for Microsoft Project and Project Server 2010 when you install SP1. You can download the June 2011 Cumulative Update from the KB Articles from the links below:

Finally, our Microsoft Support Team is available to assist should you run into any problems installing these updates; feel free to follow your internal support guidelines to use Premier Support or open up a case directly at http://support.microsoft.com.

We are pleased to announce out-of-the-box integration of Microsoft Project Professional 2010 with SharePoint Online in Office 365! Extend the power of Project to your whole team—no matter their location!

Project managers can collaborate with teams to share schedule details quickly with Project Professional 2010 and SharePoint® Online (Office 365) task list synchronization. Individuals throughout the organization can view the task list and quickly see task status and update progress in SharePoint Online—from virtually anywhere! Project managers can then easily synchronize and update the project plan from Project Professional 2010. Synchronization is bi-directional, providing greater flexibility for communicating with the team.

Want to see how simple it is to keep your team in sync—from virtually anywhere?

The Project Road Map for 2010 has been released. The road map is a collection of 12 project management scenario “user goals” and overview map that help users navigate from pm methodology to Project’s feature set. A number of enhancements have been added to the 2010 version.

Pm maturity design. Examples for each phase of project management have been designed to lead user from beginner to advanced levels. Here is one example from the cost user goal displaying the extensive “Examples from project management” section that provides a path that helps mature the project manager.

PMI focused. The Road Map follows the project phases outlined by the PMI.

Office integration. Help content from Office and SharePoint are integrated with Project Help to tell the story of how a project plan becomes more mature as it leverages the power of Office applications. Here is an example of the Risk user goal that explains risk management using both Project features and Excel features, such as magic quadrant charts and Sparklines.

Here is an example from the cost area.

Enjoy the map, and leave comments on how you’ve used it, or examples from your own organization that can be added to it.

whether you are considering, evaluation or implementing Microsoft Project and Portfolio Management Solution 2010 you will benefit from leveraging the Microsoft Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) Partners – our world-wide partner community - that have deep knowledge, proven experience and bear the logo of the PPM Gold or Silver Competency Level. The Gold Competency Level partners demonstrate best-in-class expertise within PPM competency. If you are in doubt – you can search for the partner by geography here (see a sample below for UK) or just talk to your Microsoft representative for advice.

If you are an existing partner -

or have the right business and project management expertise along with technical skills and considering joining the Microsoft Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) Partner community – we encourage you to closely monitor and subscribe to our PPM Partner Blog that we update regularly with latest updates and information for partners. You can also learn more about the PPM partner program and its benefits on the Microsoft Partner Network.

And, both customers and partners looking for training material can find books and Instructor-Led trainings for Project 2010 desktop and server at the Train & Learn site.

It’s my pleasure to announce that Microsoft received the highest rating possible in the recently released Gartner Project and Portfolio Applications MarketScope. This report is an evolution of the 2010 Gartner Magic Quadrant for IT Project and Portfolio Management (PPM). Specifically, Microsoft received a “Strong Positive” rating. You can see the full rating table at the bottom of this blog post and download the report at http://www.gartner.com/technology/media-products/reprints/microsoft/vol14/article21/article21.html.

We listened closely to customer and partner feedback and built a high quality PPM stack with Microsoft Project Professional 2010, SharePoint 2010 and Project Server 2010. It’s been one year since we launched our latest software, and it’s great to see this report recognize us!

I urge you to take a look at the full Gartner report linked above. Microsoft is committed to being a leader in the PPM market through continuous innovation. So if you’re looking to deploy a PPM solution, look no further! I highly recommend learning more about our Microsoft Project & Portfolio Management solution at http://www.microsoft.com/project/en/us/solutions.aspx. There you’ll find pointers to product guides, demos and evaluation software.

The MarketScope is copyrighted 2011 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission. The MarketScope is an evaluation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner's analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the MarketScope, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest rating. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. This MarketScope graphic was published by Gartner, Inc. as part of a larger research note and should be evaluated in the context of the entire report. The Gartner report is available upon request from Microsoft.